Folks at Mountain Gap

Pastor Pfarrer migrated from Germany expecting an assignment to an urban church in New York. With no current openings, the Bishop assigned him to serve in Mountain Gap, a small coal mining community, located in this remote village in Virginia. He had not been there long, when there was an explosion in the mine. Grace and Jonathon Lovelace owned a boarding house in Mountain Gap, where most of the miners stayed, when they had to be away from home. It became their home away from home. The Lovelaces had no children, so their boarders became their family. The explosion in the mine united the community in many ways. The Chapel became the Community meeting place, where thy shared news, good or bad. When the Chapel bell rang, residents hurried to the Chapel, hoping for the best and fearing the worst. Whatever the news, Pastor Pfarrer was their rock. They all knew they could depend on him, even in stressful, trying situations. Alberta Arquilla Sabin was born on a farm in Manistee county, Michigan. She graduated with a class of twelve in 1946 from Dickson Rural Agricultural School in Brethren. Having been awarded a four-year scholarship to Central Michigan College of Education, Alberta graduated with a B.S. degree with a major in Home Economics and minors in Chemistry and Physics. At 10:00 a.m. on June 10, 1950 she was awarded her diploma on Central's football field. At 4:00 p.m. she became Mrs. Harold Sabin at the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church. They enjoyed 44 1/2 years of marriage, until Harold's passing in 1996.